Sheila E., Jennifer Hudson and More Give The Prince Tribute We All Wanted


BET promised that they’d deliver a Prince tribute worthy of the Purple One at the 2016 BET Awards and they definitely kept their word, giving a tribute that will go down in history as the tribute.

Everyone remembers the polarizing tribute that Madonna and Stevie Wonder performed at 2016 Grammys (with Madonna being the main polarizing party). Immediately after the mixed reactions started rolling in, BET sent out a (since-deleted) tweet that read “Yeah, we saw that. Don’t worry. We got you.” along with graphics advertising a Prince tribute at this year’s BET Awards.

It’s safe to say, the network definitely delivered enlisting all the talent fans wanted to see take part in the musical celebration, including Sheila E., Jennifer Hudson, Erykah Badu, the Roots, and Stevie Wonder, to name a few. Een two of Prince’s ex-bandmates, Wendy and Susannah Melvoin, and his former saxist Eric Leeds, got in on the action.

All of the performances were notable in their own ways, but Sheila E and J.Hud got the most tongues wagging with the energy and raw talent they brought to the stage. Hudson belted out “Purple Rain” in the churchy way only she could and Sheila performed a nearly 10-minute medley of her longtime friend’s songs, including “Housequake”, “Erotic City”,”U Got The Look” and “The Glamorous Life”, just to name a few.

It’s safe to say audiences were pleased:

We previously posted artists we thought should have been chosen to honor Prince in a tribute to end all tributes. Surprisingly enough, a few of our picks made the cut, including Janelle Monae (who also tore it up) and D’Angelo, who was originally billed as part of the tribute, but mysteriously didn’t perform during the show. It all worked out, however, thanks to Bilal, who stepped in and brought the house down with his rendition of “The Beautiful Ones.”

What was your favorite part of BET’s Prince tribute? Who else would you have liked to see get in on the performance? Talk to us in the comments below!

Photo Credit: Jennifer Hudson/Instagram